---
title: "Discussion on \"The UX of coding is broken\" | Hashnode"
description: "Discussion on \"The UX of coding is broken\". As a designer trying to learn coding, I’m surprised by how the UX of the coding activity itself is not built to set us up for success."
url: "https://hashnode.com/posts/the-ux-of-coding-is-broken/6153a207414f78089df3b8ce"
---
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# [The UX of coding is broken](https://jasonleow.hashnode.dev/the-ux-of-coding-is-broken?utm_source=hashnode&utm_medium=feed)
As a designer trying to learn coding, I’m surprised by how the UX of the coding activity itself is not built to set us up for success.
Sep 28, 2021 · 3 min read · jasonleow.hashnode.dev
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- [#beginners](https://hashnode.com/tag/beginners)
- [#design](https://hashnode.com/tag/design)
- [#ux](https://hashnode.com/tag/ux)
- [#learn-coding](https://hashnode.com/tag/learn-coding)
- [#learning](https://hashnode.com/tag/learning)
## Written by
[Jason Leow ~ golifelog.com](https://hashnode.com/@jasonleow)
@jasonleow · Singapore
[View profile](https://hashnode.com/@jasonleow)
I write about indie hacking, frontend dev, writing & tech for good ✍️ golifelog.com 🔌 plugins.carrd.co
I write about indie hacking, frontend dev, writing & tech for good. ✍️ golifelog.com 🔌 plugins.carrd.co 🥑 ketolistsingapore.com
## Responses 2
Markdown supported · ⌘↵ to post
[Diky Hadna 👾](https://hashnode.com/@dkhd)
[Oct 4, 2021](https://hashnode.com/posts/the-ux-of-coding-is-broken/6153a207414f78089df3b8ce/comment/615a9748ad6beb6f6506e37e)
Seems like I dropped lots of comments in your blog today 😄 But I hope those will be informative for you.
In this comment, I'm going to be specifically taking a note of this line:
> I don’t particularly enjoy the workflow of writing code on the text editor and refreshing the browser page to see if the page turned out as you wanted it.
If you are going the traditional way: yes, that's how the traditional frontend development works.
But we're not using those methods anymore, at least, most of modern websites are now using different approach which is more modern and less hassle.
What you are facing right now was my problem back then in 2009-2013. I hated frontend development for the same exact issue.
### Use frontend framework
If you want the modern approach, all you need to do now is to learn to use frontend framework. There are a lot of popular frontend framework which will help you develop frontend faster. To mention some of them: ReactJS, VueJS, Svelte, EmberJS, etc.
But please keep in mind, to be able to use these FE framework, you need to understand how traditional FE development work (HTML + CSS + JS).
The same thing applied to CSS, there a lot of CSS framework you can utilize, e.g: Bootstrap, Bulma, Semantic UI, UIKit, Materialize CSS. TailwindCSS, PureCSS, etc.
I'm going to give an example on the CSS framework using TailwindCSS.
Case: we are going to apply a styling to a `` components to change the background, padding and margin.
- The traditional way:
```
....
```
and then in the CSS file
```
/* style.css */
.someClassName {
background-color: #000;
padding: 1rem;
margin: 1rem;
}
```
- Using ReactJS + TailwindCSS, the same exact goal can be done with these simple line (please take a note on the `className`):
```
// index.js
// The background will be black (bg-black)
// The padding is 1rem (p-4)
// The margin is 1rem (m-4)
...
```
See how much easier it is?
By using FE framework, one of your problem to refresh every time you make changes, will also be gone.
Sure, you still need to check the browser to check your work, but no more manually refreshing the page.
Have a nice day, Jason!
[Jason Leow ~ golifelog.com](https://hashnode.com/@jasonleow)
[Oct 5, 2021](https://hashnode.com/posts/the-ux-of-coding-is-broken/6153a207414f78089df3b8ce/comment/615a9748ad6beb6f6506e37e#reply-615b95aaad6beb6f6506fa26)
I use frontend frameworks now. The UX can still be improved I feel. I still need to switch windows from code editor to browser. I can't drag and drop and design the frontend visually like how I would do it like in Webflow. What I would love is for framework specific visual builders - drag, drop but the code is in the framework of your choice. I'm beginning to see indie apps that do this, so it's hopeful! :)
[Alex Bourlotos](https://hashnode.com/@alexbourlotos)
[Sep 29, 2021](https://hashnode.com/posts/the-ux-of-coding-is-broken/6153a207414f78089df3b8ce/comment/615463ee9c8bfd08f5ba9086)
There are many sides to that answer!
My wife uses squarespace because she only needs static pages with links and to manage it herself with ease. It works great for her.
Enterprise applications can get so complex that the limitations of a visual web platform can cause you to have to code solutions.
Now, if someone built a visual “web design” framework that functioned like squarespace but used only very simple, best practice HTML/CSS/JS interactions and spit out a file you could then tweak and work with, that would be nifty! Maybe I’ll look into that.
There are some tools like Figma and Adobe XD for designing interactive user pages with no code. There’s even hybrid code editors like Dreamweaver where you can edit visually also.
I like your concept of bodystorming though! I think you’ll find out that many developers are just looking for tasks and they can forget to keep the UX of it all at top of mind.
Happy coding! (Designing) lol
[Jason Leow ~ golifelog.com](https://hashnode.com/@jasonleow)
[Sep 29, 2021](https://hashnode.com/posts/the-ux-of-coding-is-broken/6153a207414f78089df3b8ce/comment/615463ee9c8bfd08f5ba9086#reply-6154f366414f78089df3d8e5)
Thanks for your long reply. Yeah, as an indie dev without any enterprise experience, I can now see why visual development might not really work in large and complex apps. Thanks for sharing that perspective!
Webflow allows for export of HTML/CSS/JS, so that's nifty yes.
Yes, it seems that UX is mostly an after-thought when a dev designs an app for other devs! :(